"The platform will allow an ecosystem of people and organisations - NGOs, local partners, software developers and telecommunications companies - to engage and communicate directly with one another in identifying community needs, creating apps to address these needs and distributing apps to the target communities," World Economic Forum (WEF) said in a statement.

AppBridge is the brainchild of a group of Young Global Leaders, a WEF community of over 700 leaders and social entrepreneurs under the age of 40 from business, government, civil society and academia.

AppBridge would launch a pilot programme in tandem with US-based business school Babson College and students would work to develop mobile apps that address a specific need identified by local communities.

"We are encouraged not only by the vision of these Young Global Leaders to improve the state of the world, but by their ability to translate it into scaled action," Executive Chairman and Founder of WEF Klaus Schwab said. He is also the Founder of Forum of Young Global Leaders.